ROBOTS AND PEOPLE - ISAAC ASIMOV

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ROBOTS AND PEOPLE BY ISAAC ASIMOV 

The stories grew from Asimov’s opinion that anyone smart enough to create robots would be smart enough to make sure that those robots wouldn’t attack their makers. Conceived by Asimov as the Three Laws of Robotics - essential laws built into the robots’ inner workings - these Laws freed science fiction writers to develop robots as characters instead of portraying them as monstrous things. I, ROBOT hint loudly that robots are a “better breed” than humans and though they were created to serve, they will inevitably become the masters. 

Beginning with a simple story about the relationship between a little girl and a limited - function robot, I Robot moves on to explore, in subsequent stories, increasingly sophisticated thoughts, questions, and moral complexities. In the process the book reveals Asimov’s overarching vision of a future that entangles inextricably the humans and the machines………………… 

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Isaac Asimov was born in Russia but his family moved to New York when he was three years old. A self-proclaimed “child prodigy,” he could read before first grade and had an almost perfect memory. Asimov credits his early intellectual development to public libraries……. “My real education, the superstructure, the details, the true architecture, I got out of the public library. For an impoverished child……. the library was the open door to wonder and achievement.”……..

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX - LATERAL THINKING BY EDWARD DE BONO

THINKING OUT OF THE BOX - LATERAL THINKING 

BY EDWARD DE BONO 

The essay “Thinking out of the Box: Lateral Thinking” is adapted from an article on lateral thinking in the internet Edward de Bono is the main propagator of lateral thinking. The essay explains the importance of lateral thinking in solving problems that we encounter in our daily life. Lateral thinking is a way of thinking that is different from logical thinking. 

De Bono used the technique of six thinking hats. These hats are of different colours. They have a symbolic significance. Each hat represents a particular style of thinking or approach to a problem. De Bono points out that the use of these hats is particularly useful in group discussions. Different members can wear different hats. There is more team work and less ill will an argument. People are more ready to understand and appreciate each other’s point of view. They are less rigid and stubborn. De Bono says that we have to think in new, creative ways to solve problem. We may have to keep changing hats. We wear a white hat when we try to grasp facts, a red hat when we view the emotional aspects of a problem and a black one when we make a judgment. We wear a green hat when we study various alternatives and a yellow one when we look at the pros and cons of an issue. We wear a blue hat when we review our thinking process. Changing hats is interesting and challenging. We come up with different ideas and suggestions………….. Thank you.

A SPIDER AND A FLY BY DON MARQUIS

A SPIDER AND A FLY BY DON MARQUIS

“a spider and a fly

i heard a spider

and a fly arguing

wait said the fly

do not eat me

i serve a great purpose

in the world

you will have to

show me said the spider

i scurry around

gutters and sewers

and garbage cans

said the fly and gather

up the germs of

typhoid influenza

and pneumonia on my feet

and wings

then i carry these germs

into households of men

and give them diseases

all the people who

have lived the right

sort of life recover

from the diseases

and the old soaks who

have weakened their systems

with liquor and iniquity

succumb it is my mission

to help rid the world

of these wicked persons

i am a vessel of righteousness

scattering seeds of justice

and serving the noblest uses

it is true said the spider

that you are more

useful in a plodding

material sort of way

than i am but i do not

serve the utilitarian deities

i serve the gods of beauty

look at the gossamer webs

i weave they float in the sun

like filaments of song

if you get what i mean

i do not work at anything

i play all the time

i am busy with the stuff

of enchantment and the materials

of fairyland my works

transcend utility

i am the artist

a creator and demi god

it is ridiculous to suppose

that i should be denied

the food i need in order

to continue to create

beauty i tell you

plainly mister fly it is all

damned nonsense for that food

to rear up on its hind legs

and say it should not be eaten

you have convinced me

said the fly say no more

and shutting all his eyes

he prepared himself for dinner

and yet he said i could

have made out a case

for myself too if i had

had a better line of talk

of course you could said the spider

clutching a sirloin from him

but the end would have been

just the same if neither of

us had spoken at all

boss i am afraid that what

the spider said is true

and it gives me to think

furiously upon the futility

of literature

archy”

THE GIVING TREE BY SHEL SILVEERSTEIN

THE GIVING TREE BY SHEL SILVEERSTEIN

Once there was a tree....

and she loved a little boy.

And everyday the boy would come

and he would gather her leaves

and make them into crowns

and play king of the forest.

He would climb up her trunk

and swing from her branches

and eat apples.

And they would play hide-and-go-seek.

And when he was tired,

he would sleep in her shade.

And the boy loved the tree....

very much.

And the tree was happy.

But time went by.

And the boy grew older.

And the tree was often alone.

Then one day the boy came to the tree

and the tree said, 'Come, Boy, come and

climb up my trunk and swing from my

branches and eat apples and play in my

shade and be happy.'

'I am too big to climb and play' said

the boy.

'I want to buy things and have fun.

I want some money?'

'I'm sorry,' said the tree, 'but I

have no money.

I have only leaves and apples.

Take my apples, Boy, and sell them in

the city. Then you will have money and

you will be happy.'

And so the boy climbed up the

tree and gathered her apples

and carried them away.

And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time....

and the tree was sad.

And then one day the boy came back

and the tree shook with joy

and she said, 'Come, Boy, climb up my trunk

and swing from my branches and be happy.'

'I am too busy to climb trees,' said the boy.

'I want a house to keep me warm,' he said.

'I want a wife and I want children,

and so I need a house.

Can you give me a house ?'

' I have no house,' said the tree.

'The forest is my house,

but you may cut off

my branches and build a

house. Then you will be happy.'

And so the boy cut off her branches

and carried them away

to build his house.

And the tree was happy.

But the boy stayed away for a long time.

And when he came back,

the tree was so happy

she could hardly speak.

'Come, Boy,' she whispered,

'come and play.'

'I am too old and sad to play,'

said the boy.

'I want a boat that will

take me far away from here.

Can you give me a boat?'

'Cut down my trunk

and make a boat,' said the tree.

'Then you can sail away...

and be happy.'

And so the boy cut down her trunk

and made a boat and sailed away.

And the tree was happy

... but not really.

And after a long time

the boy came back again.

'I am sorry, Boy,'

said the tree,' but I have nothing

left to give you -

My apples are gone.'

'My teeth are too weak

for apples,' said the boy.

'My branches are gone,'

said the tree. ' You

cannot swing on them - '

'I am too old to swing

on branches,' said the boy.

'My trunk is gone, ' said the tree.

'You cannot climb'

'I am too tired to climb' said the boy.

'I am sorry,' sighed the tree.

'I wish that I could give you something....

but I have nothing left.

I am just an old stump.

I am sorry....'

'I don't need very much now,' said the boy.

'just a quiet place to sit and rest.

I am very tired.'

'Well,' said the tree, straightening

herself up as much as she could,

'well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting

Come, Boy, sit down. Sit down and rest.'

And the boy did.

And the tree was happy.

THE GIVING TREE BY SHEL SILVERSTEIN